Angels announce a major roster update concerning their bullpen

Several perceived locks for the Angels' Opening Day roster now find themselves in roster limbo. Mickey Moniak is not in Angels' roster limbo, he's just in general roster limbo after the Angels released the outfielder. However, José Quijada's status with the team might be in question according to an unverified report (as of now). Two of Quijada, Angel Perdomo, or Garrett McDaniels will be on the outside looking into the Angels' bullpen group. Why two and not just one? Well, Ryan Johnson will be making the team after a jaw-droppingly successful spring training, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Update: Sam Blum of The Athletic confirmed that José Quijada is off the team

Ryan Johnson was last seen holding his own against the billion dollar Dodgers team. He started the second game of the annual Freeway Series that concludes spring training for the two teams, and he was deploying his cutter, sinker, slider/sweeper (it's labelled a slider, but it has sweeper metrics), changeup, four-seam arsenal to great effect. His heater was up to 97mph, per TruMedia, and was 94-97mph in his 2 innings pitched.

Johnson will likely take Moniak's spot on the 40-man roster that is now vacant. Johnson's spring training is one of the more inspiring stories in recent years, even with the organization constantly fast-tracking its prospects. Given the history of a player foregoing the minor leagues, this move by the Angels is monumental and an indication that they will not stop pushing prospects anytime soon.

With Johnson, Reid Detmers, and Ian Anderson officially named to the Angels' bullpen, the unit is comprised of those three, Kenley Jansen, Ben Joyce, Brock Burke, and Ryan Zeferjahn. So, the Angels need to decide between Quijada, Perdomo, and McDaniels to round out their roster. Quijada and Perdomo are out of minor league options and would need to be waived, while McDaniels would be offered back to the Dodgers

If Quijada indeed is one of those three relievers who the Angels designate for assignment, then it will certainly be justified. He is a fiery competitor, thus the nickname "Spicy," but his velocity was down during his outings. Quijada is a fastball-dominant pitcher, in that in 2024 a whopping 94% of his pitches were four-seams. A pitcher who throws that many fastballs losing velocity does not indicate that his effectiveness will maintain or improve. Quijada also has only appeared in 32 games the past two seasons.

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